Holiday soaps given as gifts span a range of fragrance types from the sweet uncomplicated homeliness of milk and honey to over the top scents such as frankincense and myrrh, Somali amber and Rose Otto. Oftentimes such lavish scents are featured in soap bars elaborately emblazoned with gold leaf, embedded mica and secret gifts.

Some of my favorite scents for all body care items are those that have a wickedly tenacious background- and just in case you are new to fragrance lingo – a dry down is that part of the scent that lingers long after the other notes of the scent have disappeared. In many instances the dry down is that part of the scent that stays in the unconscious – hence the perpetual craze for fragrances reminiscent of the scents of childhood i.e. the scent of fresh laundry, warm oatmeal, decadent chocolate and such odd scents as fresh earth, and play dough.

Such fragrances transport us to the places of childhood, to a time when imaginary friends and ring games meant the world to us while the cares of adulthood and its perplexities were a million miles away in neverland and far from the whimsies of childhood.

My favorite holiday soap is one fragranced with the decadent yet sensual innocent fragrance of Buttermilk and Honey. This fragrance with its hint of grown up florals amidst the creamy main notes is a hard one to find. Buttermilk and Honey is available from many different websites - one such is Southern Soapers. Although it is listed as cold process safe and having a flashpoint of 180 Degrees Farenheit, my favorite way to savor this fragrance is in ph mild applications such as melt and pour oatmeal soap base, milk soap base and other cold or relaively inert formulations such as lotions, creams and sprays.

Below is the supplier's description of the fragrance on Southern Soapers website.

"Buttermilk & Honey is a delightful, year round fragrance combining creamy milk notes with buttery undertones enveloped in an orange clover honey bottom. Buttermilk & Honey has some soft, floral notes that add depth and beauty preventing it from being perceived as a "foody" scent. Buttermilk & Honey is completely different than any other "Milk & Honey" fragrance. This is the original fragrance code for Buttermilk & Honey, released to Southern Soapers by the Darkswan owner herself. If you have purchased this fragrance previously, than you know it is a phenomenal fragrance. Buttermilk & Honey soaps easily in our CP soap formulations with no acceleration and discolors to a beige color."

Velvet Body Butter with Oats - This is a simple enough recipe that can be made into gifts for men, women and children. When formulated into childrens products it is adviseable to cut the fragrance amount used to half of that used in applications for adult use.

Shea Butter Cream Soap - This is a uncomplicated rich cream soap recipe that begs for a buttermlk and honey type fragrance.

Chocolate Vanilla Bean Soap . This is one of the most decadent soaps ever. If one has the patience to gather the unusual ingredients needed for this formulation, then the payoff is a gift that will forever be remembered. Subsitute the fragrance in the recipe with buttermilk and honey and prepare to be stunned!